[time-nuts] Serial port server .. any interest in a write up on using ?

Pete Lancashire pete at petelancashire.com
Tue May 22 02:55:10 UTC 2012


Like many time-nuts I have quite a few devices that communicate to the
outside world with a serial port. And like many I have more then one.
In a past life I use to have to connect to sometimes a 100 RS232 in
one location. A popular device is called a terminal server or
concentrator. They would take from 1 to 48 RS232 ports on one side and
let you talk to them via an Ethernet interface. I so far have twelve
RS232 ports in use.

Now that the need for such devices has diminished, these terminal
servers are showing up, sometimes for pennies.

One brand and model Digi's TS family of models I and have verified
they work with Lady Heather and Trimble Studio on a Windows XP PC.

Digi offers for free a program that makes each RS232 Port look like a
COM port, and after configuring the terminal server, and this driver,
you just just fire up Lady Heather pointing to the correct "COM Port".

Other RS232 ports on the terminal server can either be COM ports, or
one can be connected to via Telnet of for security SSH. For example I
have an Odetics on one port
and I just enter telnet ts4a (the DNS name I gave one of the terminal
servers) 2003 (the IP port associated with the third RS232 port).

So if this is of interest to anyone I'll go into more detail, models, setup etc.

-pete

-pete



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